Disposable plate having stretch skirt

ABSTRACT

A disposable plastic or paper plate having a skirt around an outer periphery thereof, the skirt either having an elastic element integrally formed therein, or having an elastic band around a bottom portion. The disposable plate may be placed onto a hard plate for support, and the elastic skirt is placed over the sides of the hard plate so that the skirt contracts beneath the hard plate and holds the disposable plate onto the hard plate without sliding off the hard plate. The disposable plate serves as a liner, so that after the disposable plate is placed on the hard plate and the skirt is holding the disposable plate in place on the hard plate, food may be placed onto the disposable plate for consumption. After the meal is finished, the disposable plate may be removed from the hard plate and disposed of, which eliminates the need for washing the hard plate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to disposable plates and dishes having means of attachment to an underlying plate, which serves as a support for the disposable plate. More specifically, the invention relates to a disposable plastic or paper plate having a skirt around an outer periphery thereof, the skirt either having an elastic element integrally formed therein, or having an elastic band around a bottom portion. The disposable plate may be placed onto a hard plate for support, and the elastic skirt is placed over the sides of the hard plate so that the elastic skirt contracts beneath the hard plate and holds the disposable plate onto the hard plate without sliding off the hard plate. The disposable plate serves as a liner, so that after the disposable plate is placed on the hard plate and the elastic skirt is holding the disposable plate in place on the hard plate, food may be placed onto the disposable plate for consumption. After the meal is finished, the disposable plate may be removed from the hard plate and disposed of, which eliminates the need for washing the hard plate.

2. Description of the Art

There are many situations where a person may want to use a paper plate for convenience, but may not have access to a table or other hard surface from which to eat, such as a picnic outing or on a camping trip. Many paper plates are not stiff enough or strong enough to hold food while the plate is placed in a person's lap, because the paper plates tend to bend or deform, resulting in loss of food from the plate and a messy situation on the ground or all over a person's clothing. Oftentimes, people will place a paper plate onto a hard plate for support, to prevent the deformation or bending of the plate. The problem with this solution is that the paper plate tends to slide around on the hard plate as the person moves or eats from the paper plate, and sometimes the paper plate slides off of the hard plate, also creating a mess. Additionally, when a paper plate is placed onto a hard plate in windy conditions, if the weight of the food is insufficient to hold down the paper plate, it may be blown away.

Heretofore, efforts have been made to provide a disposable plate or liner that may be placed onto a hard plate or surface, so that food may be placed on the disposable plate or liner without soiling the underlying hard plate or surface. When the meal is finished, the disposable plate or liner is removed from the hard plate or surface, and discarded. This arrangement eliminates the need for washing the hard plate. However, these disposable plates and liners still tend to slide or move with respect to the underlying support plate, which creates instability and sometimes results in food spillage and a mess that requires cleaning. One solution to this problem is to provide these items in a package, where an underlying support plate is provided with the disposable plates, and each component has mating elements at or near the outer periphery thereof. In other words, the underlying plate and the disposable plate are manufactured so that they fit or snap together around their edges in order to be secured together. The drawback of this type of system is that a consumer must purchase the entire set, so that the disposable plates and the underlying support plates properly mate. It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a disposable plate capable of being used together with underlying support plates of various shapes and sizes.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of holders present in the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a disposable plate or dish with means for securing the disposable plate to an underlying hard plate.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a disposable plate having a skirt with an elastic element around a periphery thereof, so that the disposable plate may be placed onto an underlying hard surface, such as a hard plate, and the skirt may be fitted over the hard plate to temporarily secure the disposable plate thereto.

Yet another important object of the present invention is to provide a disposable plate with means for securing the disposable plate to underlying plates of various shapes and sizes.

Still another important object of the present invention is to provide a disposable plate having means for securing the disposable plate to an underlying hard surface, wherein the disposable plate is inexpensive to manufacture, and overcomes disadvantages inherent in prior disposable plates and systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disposable plate having a flexible skirt with an elastic element around a periphery thereof;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a hard plate;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the disposable plate system, showing a disposable paper plate having a flexible skirt with an elastic element around a periphery thereof, and a hard plate therebelow;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the disposable plate system, showing a disposable paper plate having a flexible skirt with an elastic element around a periphery thereof, wherein the flexible skirt is attached to an upper side of the disposable paper plate, and a hard plate therebelow;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the disposable plate system illustrated in FIG. 4, showing a disposable paper plate having a flexible skirt with an elastic element around a periphery thereof, wherein said disposable plate is secured to a hard plate with the skirt stretched around the periphery of the hard plate by means of the elastic forces of the flexible skirt;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the disposable plate system, showing a disposable paper plate having a flexible skirt with an elastic element around a periphery thereof, wherein the flexible skirt is attached to an upper side of the disposable paper plate, and a hard plate therebelow;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the disposable plate system illustrated in FIG. 6, showing a disposable paper plate having a flexible skirt with an elastic element around a periphery thereof, wherein the disposable plate is secured to a hard plate with the skirt stretched around the periphery of the hard plate by means of the elastic forces of the flexible skirt;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the disposable plate system, showing a disposable paper plate having a flexible skirt with an elastic element around a periphery thereof, wherein the flexible skirt is attached to a lower side of the disposable paper plate, and a hard plate therebelow;

FIG. 9 is an exploded side view of the disposable plate system illustrated in FIG. 8, showing a disposable paper plate having a flexible skirt with an elastic element around a periphery thereof, and a hard plate therebelow; and

FIG. 10 is a side view of the disposable plate system illustrated in FIG. 9, showing a disposable paper plate having a flexible skirt with an elastic element around a periphery thereof, wherein the disposable plate is secured to a hard plate with the skirt stretched around the periphery of the hard plate by means of the elastic forces of the flexible skirt;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A first embodiment of the disposable plate is shown in FIG. 1. The disposable plate 10 includes a flexible skirt 12 around a periphery thereof. The skirt includes an elastic element that allows the disposable plate to be placed on top of a hard surface, such as a hard plate 14 (FIG. 2), and the skirt may be placed over the edges of the hard plate so that the elastic element of the skirt may secure the disposable plate to the hard plate, as shown in FIGS. 3-7. This arrangement allows the disposable plate to be temporarily secured to the hard plate, and prevents the disposable plate from sliding or moving with respect to the hard plate.

The disposable plate may be manufactured from paper, plastic, cardboard, foam or any other suitable material that may be easily disposable. The disposable plate may be formed into any desirable shape, although a preferred shape is generally circular or oblong.

The skirt is attached around an outer periphery of the disposable plate, and includes an elastic element that allows the skirt to be placed around the periphery of a hard surface, such as a hard plate, and retract on the underside of the hard plate to secure the disposable plate to the hard plate, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. In one embodiment, the elastic element may be integrally formed within the skirt so that the skirt itself is elastic, stretchable and retractable. Alternatively, the skirt may be formed from a non-elastic material such as a plastic, film, or any other suitable material, and may include an elastic band or strip 16 around a bottom portion thereof. The width of the skirt may be as desired, although a preferred width is in the range of 1 to 3 inches, in order to provide enough material to be capable of fitting over the edges of hard plates or surfaces of various shapes and sizes. Preferably, the material that is used to manufacture the skirt is inexpensive, suitable for use in a microwave oven, and strong enough to hold the disposable plate on a hard plate. Additionally, the skirt may be attached around the periphery of the disposable plate either on a top side of the disposable plate, as shown in FIGS. 4-7, or on a bottom side of the disposable plate, as shown in FIGS. 8-10.

To use the disposable plate, a user simply places the disposable plate onto a hard plate, and then stretches the skirt around the periphery of the hard plate. Then, the user may place food onto the disposable plate and have a meal. When the meal is finished, the user may remove the disposable plate from the hard plate and throw away the disposable plate. The hard plate need not be washed, thus saving time, effort and energy. These disposable plates may be useful for in-home use, camping, picnics, boating or as part of other types of activities where a table may not be available.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein. All features disclosed in this specification may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features. 

1. A disposable plate comprising: a plate member having a flexible skirt around an outer periphery thereof, wherein said skirt member includes an elastic element allowing said skirt to be stretched about the outer periphery of a hard surface such as a hard plate when said disposable plate is placed on top of said hard plate, whereby said flexible skirt may be used to temporarily secure said disposable plate to a hard plate.
 2. The disposable plate set forth in claim 1, wherein said disposable plate is manufactured from a material selected from a group consisting of paper, plastic, foam or cardboard.
 3. The disposable plate set forth in claim 1, wherein said elastic element of said flexible skirt is integrally formed within said flexible skirt.
 4. The disposable plate set forth in claim 1, wherein said elastic element of said flexible skirt is an elastic band or strip positioned at a bottom portion of said skirt.
 5. A method of using dishware comprising the steps of: Providing a disposable plate having securing means for securing said disposable plate to a hard underlying plate, wherein said securing means include a stretchable outer periphery adapted to stretch over the edges of an underlying plate; placing said disposable plate on top of a hard underlying plate; stretching said securing means about the periphery of said hard underlying plate; placing food on said disposable plate; and removing said disposable plate from said hard underlying plate. 